Arsenal Wiki

Anelka OUT for Chelsea - Walcott, Djourou, and Fabianski IN for Arsenal

noreply@blogger.com (Syallena) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 08:08:00 +0000

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard made his first start since August in tonight's Barclays Premier League clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Lampard had fully recovered from groin and hamstring problems so Ramires dropped to the bench while Didier Drogba came in for Nicolas Anelka.

Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie made their first starts together for Arsenal since August with Marouane Chamakh settling for a place among the substitutes.

Lukasz Fabianski returned in goal, Johan Djourou was preferred ahead of Sebastien Squillaci at centre-back and Theo Walcott got the nod ahead of Andrey Arshavin.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Song Fabregas, Wilshere, Walcott, van Persie, Nasri.

Subs: Szczesny Diaby, Rosicky, Squillaci, Arshavin, Chamakh, Bendtner.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Essien, Mikel Lampard, Kalou, Drogba, Malouda.

Subs: Turnbull, Ramires Bosingwa, Van Aanholt, Bruma, Kakuta, McEachran.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Morocco coach delighted with Chamakh

noreply@blogger.com (Syallena) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:23:00 +0000

New Morocco coach Eric Gerets believes he has inherited an outstanding player in Marouane Chamakh thanks in part to Arsenal.

The former Marseille boss, who takes charge of the African side for the first time in an international friendly against Northern Ireland in Belfast tomorrow, believes the striker has improved considerably since joining the Gunners.
They (Arsenal) play fantastic one-touch football and he (Chamakh) is getting better every week as he gets used to this new kind of play.
Eric Gerets, new Morocco coach

26-year-old Chamakh moved to the Emirates Stadium from Bordeaux in the summer and has made a fine start in London, scoring eight times including an impressive double against Wolves last week.

"When he played in France he was very good in the box and scored a lot of goals with his head," said the new Morocco boss.

"But I get the impression since he has joined Arsenal he has become a more complete player. They play fantastic one-touch football and he is getting better every week as he gets used to this new kind of play.

"He is doing a great job for Arsenal. It is not easy to change your game but he is doing very well," said the coach.

The 56-year-old veteran, who first made his name as a defender for Standard Liege, PSV Eindhoven and Belgium, has been charged with the task of reviving Morocco, who have under-achieved in international tournaments over the past decade.

"I think there is a big potential," said Gerets, who has also coached Turkish giants Galatasaray and was last in charge of Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal. "They have a lot of good players. For one reason or another they have not been successful in the last couple of years but I think we can change this."

Gerets has little idea what to expect from Northern Ireland at Windsor Park tomorrow. Manager Nigel Worthington has made eight changes from the last game, having been hit by a host of withdrawals.

"I heard he will put some young players in - this may not be to our advantage as they will be young, hungry. I am looking forward to this game. It will be my first game. I have had the team only for two days but my job really starts tomorrow," said Gerets.

Cesc Fabregas Biography

noreply@blogger.com (Syallena) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 11:43:00 +0000

Francesc 'Cesc' Fabregas Soler was born on the 4th of May, 1987, in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia, Spain.

Cesc's football career started brightly while with Barcelona's B team. He gained international caps with Spain at the FIFA U17 World Championship, where he was named best player and top goalscorer, even though his side had finished second to Brazil.

At the age of just 16 years, he left his homeland and moved to England with Arsenal, in a £2.25m transfer.

Aged just 16 years and 177 days, the midfielder became Arsenal's youngest first-team player ever, when he made his debut on October 23rd, 2003, in a League Cup match at home, which the Gunners won on penalties after drawing 1-1.

On his next appearance, he broke another record, he scored in Arsenal's 5-1 League Cup win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, which made him the youngest ever Arsenal goalscorer.

The following season saw the Spaniard made the breakthrough into the first-team proper, when he was selected to appear in the Charity Shield match against Manchester United. The North London club won 3-1. From there, he and Arsenal didn't look back, as while he started the Premiership campaign filling in for the injured Patrick Vieira, the team started the season on fire.

Arsenal thrashed Everton 4-1 away, and Middlesbrough 5-3 at home, then in a 3-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers, Cesc scored his first Premiership goal. Unfortunately for Cesc, he was soon ousted as Vieira was back fit, with manager Arsene Wenger opting to go with the experienced Frenchman. The youngster wasn't far from the first-team though, as he was only relegated to the bench, from where he made many other appearances.

In a few games, Fabregas was back in the team, this time along-side Vieira in the centre of midfield. The duo helped their side to wins over Manchester City, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa. The following game Vieira was absent, but Cesc continued to start to make his debut in the Champions' League in the 2-2 draw at Panathinaikos.

As the season went on, Fabregas was in and out of the starting line-up, he did though start in Arsenal's 4-5 win at North London rivals Spurs.

Cesc became the second youngest ever to score in the Champions' League, when he scored the third goal in Arsenal's 5-1 win over Rosenborg. Arsenal's campaign in Champion League's failed to get any further than the last 16 when they were beaten by Bayern Munich on aggregate.

As the Premiership season came to a close, the young Spaniard scored his third goal of the season, when his side beat Liverpool 3-1 at home in the Premiership, however, Arsenal could only finish second to champions Chelsea.

The season ended with FA Cup glory for Cesc and his team-mates as Manchester United were beaten on penalties.

The summer came and Patrick Vieira went [to Juventus]. This left a massive hole for Cesc to fill. But season 2005/06 started brightly for the Spaniard with a goal in the FA Community Shield, sadly a brace by Didier Drogba saw Chelsea steal a win.

From there, Arsenal's start to the season was erratic, especially after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea. There were other losses too away at Middlesbrogh and West Bromwich Albion. There were fine moments, like the 2-1 win at Ajax in the Champions' League.

Cesc managed to get on the score sheet, coincidentally again in a 3-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers. But soon his team's form slumped with losses to Newcastle United and Chelsea [again]. There were some highlights though, like the 7-0 home thrashing of Everton.

Cesc the following game got his first red card in England in the 1-0 defeat at Everton. But soon sorrow turned to joy when he assisted Thierry Henry in his match winning goal at Real Madrid, and there was even more joy, when he played for the full Spanish national side in their 3-2 win over the Ivory Coast. He became the youngest player to be capped by Spain for quite some years.

The Champions' League campaign continued with a two legged win over Juventus, in which the Spaniard scored and assisted Henry's goal, although despite this, it ended with a European Cup final against Barcelona. With everything stacked against them after Jens Lehmann has been sent off early in the match, the Gunners went ahead through a Sol Campbell goal. They couldn't hang on to their lead though, with Samuel Eto'o equalising and Juliano Belletti scoring the winner.

Their Premiership campaign saw Arsenal finish fourth after they managed to steal the last Champions' league place from arch rivals Spurs, whose players mysteriously suffered some form of illness prior to their match against West Ham, which they lost.

Now the domestic season was over, Fabregas' international season continued, after he was selected by Spain for the World Cup in Germany. He made four appearances - two as substitute. Despite the Spaniards having a squad of some of the World's finest players, they yet again failed to capitalise. They were beaten 3-1 in the knock stages. Ironically, Cesc's former Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira was on the scoresheet for France.

Season 2006/07 started in Croatia, with a Champions' League qualifier against Dynamo Zagreb. Fabregas for scored twice in the away victory. The Premiership campaign started slowly with a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at Arsenal's new Emirates stadium.

Cesc's involvement with the Spanish national side continued in their campaign to qualify for the European Championships. He started in the 4-0 win over Liechtenstein, but was made a substitute in the embarassing 3-2 defeat away at Northern Ireland. There was a further defeat away at Sweden, in which they went down 2-0.

Fabregas In People Opinion...

noreply@blogger.com (Syallena) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 11:41:00 +0000

Advantages: Vision, Passing, Touch, Awareness, Anticipation, Composure

~~~ Facts ~~~

Cesc Fabregas, full name Francesc Fabregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League.

After spending 3 years of his youth career at the world-renowned Barcelona youth set-up he was snapped up by Arsenal at the young age of 16, much to Barcelona's dismay.

Still only 22 years of age Fabregas is the Arsenal captain and battling for a starting place in the Spanish senior side. However, knocking Xavi (Barcelona) out of the first 11 isn't what you would call an easy task.

~~~ People Opinion by Wils0408n~~~

For me Fabregas is one of the best footballers on the planet and arguably the best centre midfielder in the world at the moment.

There's so much to his game, but the main aspect that stands out is his passing ability. Starting his career as a deep lying playmaker meant that Cesc had to have a sublime array of passing and the ability to dictate the tempo of a game. He does this as good as anyone in the world.

His short passing is crisp and free flowing, critical for anyone playing in the Arsenal or Spain side. His long passes and through balls are almost always inch perfect, finding the tiniest gaps in opposing defences that other wouldn't even dream about attempting.

His other big asset is his awareness and anticipation. It's almost like he has a map in his head of where everyone on the pitch is. Constantly looking around him and thinking about where he's going to play the ball before he even receives it. This awareness is also useful when he's in possession. When someone is coming in from behind him he always turns away just at the last second to shield the ball from his opponent.

Useful since he's only 5ft 9in, playing in a sport becoming more and more about size and physical ability.

Fabregas is also very hard working, regularly clocking up over 10km in each match. This is down to his tracking back to help the defence and also because he's always moving trying to create the right angle for his teammate to pass to him. Also, over recent years Fabregas is going past the forwards much more often in a bid to score more goals.

If he ever finds himself in a tight spot, his immaculate touch will help him out. Passes are often fired into his pass, only for Fabregas to control pefectly.

This new, more attacking approach to the game could cause some players some trouble. Not Fabregas however, who has added his finishing ability to his enormous array of skills. Always composed in front of goal, Fabregas rarely misses opportunities, which arise to him. Once he starts getting double figures regularly for the season then nobody will be able to doubt his talent.

Physically Fabregas isn't anything special. He's only 5ft 9in, isn't built like an ox like most players in the English premier League these days and isn't blessed with blistering pace. None of this really affects him, all because of his footballing brain and his understanding of the game.

~~~ Overall ~~~

Quite simply a footballing genius. If you don't appreciate what Fabregas does on the field, then for me you don't understand the game of football.

To be the captain of such a big club at such a young age could be extremely daunting, but Cesc Fabregas has taken it in his stride and even improved with the responsibility thrown upon him.

And just for the record, I believe Fabregas to be a superior player to Xavi. They both play almost identically, but Fabregas has a slight edge in everything he does.

Excellent - 10/10

Arsenal FC

noreply@blogger.com (Syallena) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Arsenal Football Club is an English professional football club in North London that plays in the Premier League. One of the most successful clubs in English football, they have won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups. They hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and are the only side to have completed a Premier League season unbeaten.

Arsenal was founded in 1886 in Woolwich and in 1893 became the first club from the south of England to join the Football League. In 1913, they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. In the 1930s they won five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years they won the League and FA Cup Double, in the 1970–71 season, and in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century won two more Doubles and reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final.

Arsenal have a long-standing rivalry with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they regularly contest the North London derby. Arsenal are also the third most valuable club in the world as of 2010, valued at $1.2 billion.

^History

^{Arsenal Football Club started out as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, south-east London, and was renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. The club was renamed again to Woolwich Arsenal after becoming a limited company in 1893. The club became the first southern member of the Football League in 1893, starting out in the Second Division, and won promotion to the First Division in 1904. The club's relative geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems and effectively bankrupt by 1910, when they were taken over by local businessman Henry Norris. Norris sought to move the club elsewhere, and in 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London; they dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year. Arsenal only finished in fifth place in 1919, but were nevertheless elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, by reportedly dubious means.}

Arsenal appointed Herbert Chapman as manager in 1925. Having already won the league twice with Huddersfield Town in 1923–24 and 1924–25 (see Seasons in English football), Chapman brought Arsenal their first period of major success. His revolutionary tactics and training, along with the signings of star players such asAlex James and Cliff Bastin, laid the foundations of the club's domination of English football in the 1930s. Under his guidance Arsenal won their first major trophies – victory in the 1930 FA Cup Final preceded two League Championships, in 1930–31 and 1932–33. In addition, Chapman was behind the 1932 renaming of the local London Underground station from "Gillespie Road" to "Arsenal", making it the only Tube station to be named specifically after a football club.

Chapman died suddenly of pneumonia in early 1934, leaving Joe Shaw and George Allison to carry on his successful work. Under their guidance, Arsenal won three more titles, in 1933–34, 1934–35 and 1937–38, and the 1936 FA Cup. As key players retired, Arsenal had started to fade by the decade's end, and then the intervention of the Second World War meant competitive professional football in England was suspended.

After the war, Arsenal enjoyed a second period of success under Allison's successor Tom Whittaker, winning the league in 1947–48 and 1952–53, and the FA Cup in 1950. Their fortunes waned thereafter; unable to attract players of the same calibre as they had in the 1930s, the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in trophyless mediocrity. Even former England captain Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.

Arsenal began winning silverware again with the surprise appointment of club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as manager in 1966. After losing two League Cup finals, they won their first European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in 1970–71. This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972–73, lost three FA Cup finals, in 1972, 1978 and 1980, and lost the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United in the 1979 FA Cup Final, widely regarded as a classic.

The return of former player George Graham as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in 1986–87, Graham's first season in charge. This was followed by a League title win in 1988–89, won with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengers Liverpool. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1990–91, losing only one match, won the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993, and a second European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1994. Graham's reputation was tarnished when he was found to have taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge for signing certain players, and he was dismissed in 1995. His replacement, Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute with the board of directors.

The club's success in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century owed a great deal to the 1996 appointment of Arsène Wenger as manager. Wenger brought new tactics, a new training regime and several foreign players who complemented the existing English talent. Arsenal won a second League and Cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, an achievement which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles"; in all, the club went 49 league matches unbeaten, anational record.

Arsenal finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's first eleven seasons at the club, although on no occasion were they able to retain the title. As of 2009, they were one of only four teams, the others being Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea, to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1992. Arsenal had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League until 2005–06; in that season they became the first club from London in the competition's fifty-year history to reach the final, in which they were beaten 2–1 by Barcelona. In July 2006, they moved into the Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury.

Crest

Unveiled in 1888, Royal Arsenal's first crest featured three cannons viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich. These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a cascabel on each are clear indicators that they are cannons. This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted a crest featuring a single cannon, pointing eastwards, with the club's nickname, The Gunners, inscribed alongside it; this crest only lasted until 1925, when the cannon was reversed to point westward and its barrel slimmed down. In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon below the club's name, set in blackletter, and above the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly-adopted Latin motto, Victoria Concordia Crescit "victory comes from harmony", coined by the club's programme editor Harry Homer. For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green.

Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to copyright it. Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold "unofficial" Arsenal merchandise, Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrigh table. The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a sans-serif typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest was criticised by some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.

Until the 1960s, a badge was worn on the playing shirt only for high-profile matches such as FA Cup finals, usually in the form of a monogram of the club's initials in red on a white background. The monogram theme was developed into an Art Deco-style badge on which the letters A and C framed a football rather than the letter F, the whole set within a hexagonal border. This early example of a corporate logo, introduced as part of Herbert Chapman's rebranding of the club in the 1930s, was used not only on Cup Final shirts but as a design feature throughout Highbury Stadium, including above the main entrance and inlaid in the floors. From 1967, a white cannon was regularly worn on the shirts, until replaced by the club crest, sometimes with the addition of the nickname "The Gunners", in the 1990s.

Colour

For much of Arsenal's history, their home colours have been bright red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, though this has not always been the case. The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from Nottingham Forest, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886. Two of Dial Square's founding members, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates, were former Forest players who had moved to Woolwich for work. As they put together the first team in the area, no kit could be found, so Beardsley and Bates wrote home for help and received a set of kit and a ball. The shirt was redcurrant, a dark shade of red, and was worn with white shorts and blue socks.

In 1933 Herbert Chapman, wanting his players to be more distinctly dressed, updated the kit, adding white sleeves and changing the shade to a brighter pillar box red. Two possibilities have been suggested for the origin of the white sleeves. One story reports that Chapman noticed a supporter in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt; another was that he was inspired by a similar outfit worn by the cartoonist Tom Webster, with whom Chapman played golf.

Regardless of which story is true, the red and white shirts have come to define Arsenal and the team have worn the combination ever since, aside from two seasons. The first was 1966–67, when Arsenal wore all-red shirts; this proved unpopular and the white sleeves returned the following season. The second was 2005–06, the last season that Arsenal played at Highbury, when the team wore commemorative redcurrant shirts similar to those worn in 1913, their first season in the stadium; the club reverted to their normal colours at the start of the next season. In the 2008–09 season, Arsenal replaced the traditional all-white sleeves with red sleeves with a broad white stripe.

Arsenal's home colours have been the inspiration for at least three other clubs. In 1909, Sparta Prague adopted a dark red kit like the one Arsenal wore at the time; in 1938, Hibernian adopted the design of the Arsenal shirt sleeves in their own green and white strip. In 1920, Sporting Clube de Braga's coach returned from a game at Highbury and changed his team's green kit to a duplicate of Arsenal's red with white sleeves and shorts, giving rise to the team's nickname of Os Arsenalistas. These teams still wear these designs to this day.

For many years Arsenal's away colours were white shirts and either black or white shorts. Since the 1969–70 season, they have worn yellow and blue, but there have been exceptions. They wore a green and navy away kit in 1982–83, and since the early 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away colours have been changed regularly. During this period the designs have been either two-tone blue designs, or variations on the traditional yellow and blue, such as the metallic gold and navy strip used in the 2001–02 season, and the yellow and dark grey used from 2005 to 2007. As of 2009, the away kit is changed every season, and the outgoing away kit becomes the third-choice kit if a new home kit is being introduced in the same year.

Arsenal's shirts have been made by manufacturers including Bukta (from the 1930s until the early 1970s), Umbro (from the 1970s until 1986), Adidas (1986–1994), and Nike (since 1994). Like those of most other major football clubs, Arsenal's shirts have featured sponsors' logos since the 1980s; sponsors include JVC (1982–1999), Sega (1999–2002), O2(2002–2006), and Emirates (from 2006).

Stadium

For most of their time in south-east London, Arsenal played at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, apart from a three-year period at the nearby Invicta Ground between 1890 and 1893. The Manor Ground was initially just a field, until the club installed stands and terracing for their first Football League match in September 1893. They played their home games there for the next twenty years (with two exceptions in the 1894–95 season), until the move to north London in 1913.

Widely referred to as Highbury, Arsenal Stadium was the club's home from September 1913 until May 2006. The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, and had a design common to many football grounds in the UK at the time, with a single covered stand and three open-air banks of terracing. The entire stadium was given a massive overhaul in the 1930s: new Art Deco West and East stands were constructed, opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively, and a roof was added to the North Bank terrace, which was bombed during the Second World War and not restored until 1954.

Highbury could hold over 60,000 spectators at its peak, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The Taylor Report and Premier League regulations obliged Arsenal to convert Highbury to an all-seater stadium in time for the 1993–94 season, thus reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators. This capacity had to be reduced further during Champions League matches to accommodate additional advertising hoardings, so much so that for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000, Arsenal played Champions League home matches at Wembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators.

Expansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a Grade II listed building and the other three stands were close to residential properties. These limitations prevented the club from maximising matchday revenue during the 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century, putting them in danger of being left behind in the football boom of that time. After considering various options, in 2000 Arsenal proposed building a new 60,355-capacity stadium at Ashburton Grove, since renamed the Emirates Stadium, about 500 metres south-west of Highbury. The project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs, and construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the 2006–07 season. The stadium was named after its sponsors, the airline company Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth around £100 million; some fans referred to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they did not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names. The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2012, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2013–14 season. From the start of the 2010-11 season on the stands of the stadium will be officially known as North Bank, East Stand, West Stand and Clock end.

Arsenal's players train at the Shenley Training Centre in Hertfordshire, a purpose-built facility which opened in 1999. Before that the club used facilities on a nearby site owned by the University College of London Students' Union. Until 1961 they had trained at Highbury. Arsenal's Academy under-18 teams play their home matches at Shenley, while the reserves play their games at Underhill, home of Barnet Fc.

Supporter

Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as "Gooners", the name derived from the team's nickname, "The Gunners". The fanbase is large and generally loyal, and virtually all home matches sell out; in 2007–08 Arsenal had the second-highest average League attendance for an English club (60,070, which was 99.5% of available capacity), and as of 2006, the fourth-highest all-time average attendance. The club's location, adjoining wealthy areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury, mixed areas such as Islington, Holloway, Highbury, and the adjacent London Borough of Camden, and largely working-class areas such as Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington, has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from across the usual class divides. In addition, Arsenal have the highest proportion (7.7%) of non-white attending supporters of any club in English football, according to a 2002 report.

Like all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Arsenal Football Supporters Club, which works closely with the club, and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains a more independent line. The Arsenal Supporters' Trust promotes greater participation in ownership of the club by fans. The club's supporters also publish fanzines such asThe Gooner, Highbury High, Gunflash and the less cerebral Up The Arse!. In addition to the usual English football chants, supporters sing "One-Nil to the Arsenal" (to the tune of "Go West") and "Boring, Boring Arsenal", which used to be a common taunt from opposition fans but is now sung ironically by Arsenal supporters when the team is playing well.

There have always been Arsenal supporters outside of London, and since the advent of satellite television, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography. Consequently, Arsenal have a significant number of fans from beyond London and all over the world; in 2007, 24 UK, 37 Irish and 49 other overseas supporters clubs were affiliated with the club. A 2005 report by Granada Ventures, which at the time owned a 9.9% stake in the club, estimated Arsenal's global fanbase at 27 million.

Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur; matches between the two are referred to as North London derbies. Other rivalries within London include those with Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham United. In addition, Arsenal and Manchester United developed a strong on-pitch rivalry in the late 1980s, which intensified in recent years when both clubs were competing for the Premier League title – so much so that a 2003 online poll by the Football Fans Census listed Manchester United as Arsenal's biggest rivals, followed by Tottenham and Chelsea. A 2008 poll listed the Tottenham rivalry as more important.

Ownership and Finances

Arsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-quoted public limited company, whose ownership is considerably different from that of other football clubs. Only 62,219 shares in Arsenal have been issued, and they are not traded on a public exchange such as the FTSE or AIM; instead, they are traded relatively infrequently on PLUS , a specialist market. At 31 August 2010, a single share in Arsenal had a mid price of £10,250, which set the club's market capitalisation value at approximately £637.74m. The club made a pre-tax operating profit (excluding player transfers) of £62.7m in the year ending 31 May 2009, from a turnover of £313.3m.

In April 2010, business magazine Forbes ranked Arsenal as the third most valuable football team in the world, after Manchester United and Real Madrid, valuing the club at $1.181bn (£768m), excluding debt.

In total, Arsenal F.C.'s board of directors currently hold 45.2% of the club's shares; the largest shareholder on the board is American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke, who launched a bid for the club in 2007, and in November 2009 increased his holding to 18,594 shares (29.9%). Other directors with significant holdings are diamond dealer Danny Fiszman, who holds 10,025 shares (16.1%), and club chairman Peter Hill-Wood, who owns 400 (0.64%); the other directors each hold nominal amounts. Former director Lady Bracewell-Smith (wife of the grandson of former chairman Sir Bracewell Smith) holds 9,893 shares (15.9%).

A rival bid to Kroenke's came from Red & White Securities, which is co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and London-based financier Farhad Moshiri. Red & White launched its bid in August 2007, buying the stake held by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, and as at February 2009 owned 15,555 shares (25.0%) in the club. This led to press speculation of a bidding war between Kroenke and Usmanov. However, Kroenke agreed not to purchase more than 29.9% of the club until at least September 2009, while the rest of the board have first option on each others' shares until October 2012.

In Popular Culture

Arsenal have appeared in a number of media "firsts". On 22 January 1927, their match at Highbury against Sheffield United was the first English League match to be broadcast live on radio.A decade later, on 16 September 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first football match in the world to be televised live. Arsenal also featured in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool at Anfield on 22 August 1964. BSkyB's coverage of Arsenal's January 2010 match against Manchester United was the first live public broadcast of a sports event on 3D television.

As one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in the arts in Britain. They formed the backdrop to one of the earliest football-related films, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939). The film centres on a friendly match between Arsenal and an amateur side, one of whose players is poisoned while playing. Many Arsenal players appeared as themselves and manager George Allison was given a speaking part. More recently, the book Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby was an autobiographical account of Hornby's life and relationship with football and Arsenal in particular. Published in 1992, it formed part of the revival and rehabilitation of football in British society during the 1990s. The book was twice adapted for the cinema – the 1997 British film focuses on Arsenal's 1988–89 title win, and a 2005 American version features a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox.

Arsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive and "boring" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s; many comedians, such as Eric Morecambe, made jokes about this at the team's expense. The theme was repeated in the 1997 film The Full Monty, in a scene where the lead actors move in a line and raise their hands, deliberately mimicking the Arsenal defence's offside trap, in an attempt to co-ordinate their striptease routine. Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film Plunkett & Macleane, in which two characters are named Dixon and Winterburn after Arsenal's long-serving full backs – the right-sided Lee Dixon and the left-sided Nigel Winterburn.

Arsenal are mentioned in the book Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age as an example of a Web 2.0 community of fans around a sports team.

The 1991 television comedy sketch show Harry Enfield & Chums featured a sketch from the characters Mr Cholmondly-Warner and Grayson where the Arsenal team of 1933, featuring eggagerated parodies of fictitious amateur players take on The Liverpool team of the modern era.^[82]

^Records

David O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams comes second, having played 669 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman, with 564 appearances.

Thierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 226 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2007, having surpassed Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005. Wright's record had stood since September 1997, when he overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin in 1939. Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League, with 174, a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.

Arsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a UEFA Champions League match against RC Lens on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, where the club formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity. The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0–0 draw against Sunderland on 9 March 1935, while that at Emirates Stadium is 60,161, for a 2–2 draw with Manchester United on 3 November 2007.

Arsenal have also set records in English football, including the most consecutive seasons spent in the top flight (84 as of 2010–11) and the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004). This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04 season, when Arsenal became only the second club to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89.

Arsenal also set a Champions League record during the 2005–06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set by A.C. Milan. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak ended in the final, when Samuel Eto'o scored a 76th-minute equaliser for Barcelona.

Player

First Squad

Reserve Squad

Out on Loan

Current Coaching Staff

Manage : Arsene Wenger

Assit. Manager : Pat Rice

First Team Coach : Boro Primorac

Reserve Team Coach : Neil Bandfild

Goalkeeping Coach : Gerry Peyton

Fitness Coach : Tony Colbert

Physiotherapist : Coline Lewin

Club Doctor : Gary O'Driscoll

Kit Manager : Vic Akers

Chief Scout : Steve Rowley

Head of Youth Development : Liam Brady

Manager

There have been eighteen permanent and five caretaker managers of Arsenal since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, Thomas Mitchell in 1897. The club's longest-serving manager as of 2009, in terms of both length of tenure and number of games overseen, is Arsène Wenger, who was appointed in 1996. Wenger is also Arsenal's only manager from outside Great Britain and Ireland.Two Arsenal managers have died in the job – Herbert Chapman and Tom Whittaker.